LloydMartin Allures with Small Plates

A stylish new eatery opens on Queen Anne Avenue, serving food you won't want to share.

By Seattle Mag January 13, 2012

0212reviewlloyd

This article originally appeared in the February 2012 issue of Seattle Magazine.

Sometimes a restaurant feels just right in its space. LloydMartin, chef Sam Crannell’s masculine den on Queen Anne Avenue (the former location of Bricco wine bar) is such a place.

With room for a dozen at the bar, with polished walnut and reclaimed-wood banquettes, it’s an ideal place to duck into for a glass of wine and a plate or two.

Crannell changes his small-plates menu almost daily with near-stellar results. In deep autumn, elk Bolognese on fresh pasta gets a pop of tart-sweet huckleberry; it was so good, I wished I hadn’t been sharing.

He can go light—a soft, delicate black cod with clams and fennel was perfectly good.

But deep, intense and rich is what Crannell does best, as in a thick-yolked poached egg (the texture the result of being cooked sous vide, in a long, slow, warm water bath) with stinky-oozy Taleggio cheese, ham and chanterelle mushrooms.

The plates are outstanding when paired with pours from an excellent by-the-glass list ($7–$10); there’s an impressive lineup of local brews, too.

Service is confident, opinionated and efficient, and there’s an attractive quality to the crowd. It’s been a while since such an alluring spot opened atop Queen Anne Hill.

Dinner Mon.–Sat. Queen Anne, 1525 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.420.7602; lloydmartinseattle.com $$

 

Follow Us